Lady Sun
Lady Sun (in Chinese: 孫夫人), also known as Sun Ren (in Chinese: 孫仁) and Sun Shangxiang (in Chinese: 孫尚香), is a minor protagonist in the 14th-century Chinese classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by the late Luo Guanzhong, and its multiple adaptations. She is the princess of Wu kingdom and the daughter of the warlord Sun Jian and his wife Lady Wu, and a younger sister of the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan. History Arranged Marriage Sun Shangxiang is a princess of Wu and wife of Liu Bei - leader of their rival kingdom of Shu. Sun Shangxiang was pledged to Liu Bei by her father Sun Jian in an alliance to Shu in Gong'an County in the Jing Province. Sun Jian was a military commander for emperor Xian but had been displaced after Cao Cao rose to power and became a contracted warlord, his army would be known as Wu. Liu Bei is a leader of Shu - a former province displaced by Cao Cao, who established themselves as their own kingdom when they relocated. With Liu Bei a close descendant of the Han Dynasty and Cao Cao unable to finish him, Sun Jian saw the value in an alliance with him and presented his daughter Sun Shangxiang as symbolic bridge between Shu and Wu. Sun Shangxinag was said to never go anywhere without her body-guards, who were all female and all carried multiple blades. Even after Sun Jian was succeeded by his son, Sun Shangxiang's brother, Sun Quan, Sun Shangxiang was the one who kept Wu and Shu cooperating together. Wu Strikes During Liu Bei's campaign against Liu Zhang in Yi, Sun Quan decided to take back his sister and sent a Wu naval team to extract her. Sun Shangxiang went to meet her brother, she would have attempted to take Liu Shan, Liu Bei's son from a previous marriage, and would have succeeded if not for the Shu general Zhao Yun and Liu Bei's brother, Zhang Fei, who managed to save Liu Shan. Despite the fact she was not able to secure her step-son, Sun Shangxiang was able to secure several bits of Shu's wealth and information on her husband's movements and tactics for her brother Sun Quan. Armed with the information he had gotten, and in light of the rather obvious break-up, Sun Quan made Wu's contention towards Shu public - declaring Wu as the one's who would unite the three kingdoms instead of Shu or Wei. Adapations There are no historical records as to what happened to Sun Shangxiang after she left Yi. In the 14th-century book about the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has her staying with Liu Bei and commiting suicide when he dies. Most of the Dynasty Warriors game series ignore Sun Shangxiang's role in Wu and Shu's divide but depending on game and player character Sun Shangxiang may even come to rescure her husband, siding with him against her brothers when his life is on the line. Historically Sun Shangxiang was a trained fighter but never actually fought anyone. TV specials ignore Sun Shangxiang as a fighter, having her instead act as a purely supporting character. Dynasty Warriors games have Sun Shangxiang portrayed as a highly compotent fighter whom the player may choose as not only one of many highly compotent blade-masters, but one who uses specialized wind and fire wheels. Personality Sun Shangxiang was said to be wise, shrewd, and fierce. By all accounts her marriage to Liu Bei was amicable but she prioritized service to her own kin over her romantic life. That Liu Bei always felt uncomfortable leaving home. According to his adviser, Zhuge Liang, who wrote that "When at home my lord fears Cao Cao in the north and Sun Quan in the east, when out on campaign he fears Lady Sun at home." Sun Shangxiang was seen as a high-maintenance wife in Romance of The Three Kingdoms. In the Dynasty Warriors, Sun Shangxiang's role as Liu Bei's wife is some-what down-played and she is portrayed most like that of her body-guard warriors - a strong warrior always carrying a set of blades and ready for a fight. In both the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Dynasty Warriors, Sun Shangxiang is often shown to be strong and independent, however in the games she is characterized as being more playful than shrewd but still with a deep loyalty to her father and brothers over that of obligation to Liu Bei. It is unknown if she tried to kidnap Liu Shan to keep him safe for when Wu struck Shu, or is she was doing it to hold him hostage to keep Liu Bei at bay. Trivia *She is a playable character in both the Dynasty Warriors and Knight of Valour series. *The year 211 is a turning point for Shu and Wu as it is when Wu starts openly campaigning against Shu - Sun Shangxiang's intentions made clear that same year. *In the first Knight of Valour game, Sun Shangxiang appears as a boss character in the first stage. 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